Technical Field
Example embodiments of the present application relate, in general, to the field of information and/or content management, and more particularly to the gathering, consolidation, and retrieval of information from one or more vehicle sensors associated with one or more vehicles in the vicinity of an event involving a vehicle.
Related Art
Many vehicles today are equipped with various driver support systems, for example, predictive safety systems and adaptive cruise control systems. Many vehicles are also equipped with sensors for monitoring the health of the vehicle, for example, temperature sensors, tire pressure monitors, fuel status monitors, accident monitors, and the like. In addition, many vehicles are equipped with sensors for providing the driver with information regarding the surrounding environment of the vehicle, for example, backup and side view monitoring cameras, proximity detectors, and the like. Vehicles may have an automated vehicle system status reporting capability, for example, the On Star® service. The aims with such systems are often to increase the driver's safety and comfort. Some of the systems may assist the driver with tasks that the driver would otherwise perform manually, for example, keeping the vehicle in a particular road lane, performing automated parking, and/or keeping a safe distance to a vehicle ahead.
In order to provide these semi-automatic or automatic vehicle functions, systems in the vehicle often autonomously monitor the surroundings of the vehicle using a number of sensors. The sensors may provide the vehicle system controllers with information on the status of the vehicle and the vehicle's surroundings, for example, the relative position of the vehicle, other vehicles in proximity to the vehicle, obstacles sensed or detected by the sensors, and/or road markings. As a result, the vehicle's semi-automatic or automatic systems may depend on reliable sensor information in order to function properly.
When a vehicle event occurs, for example, an accident, a system within the vehicle may transmit information indicating that the event has occurred. Due to limited memory, a system in the vehicle may be able to store system status information and sensor data only for a limited period of time.